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Bloomfield softball wants chance to show off its improvement

1 HS Softball Linden REMNIC.JPG

Bloomfield's Debbie Mazzeo went 2-for-4 with two runs Saturday against Linden in the opener of the Linden Classic. Mazzeo is the face of a turnaround for Bloomfield, which went 6-15 last season.
(Alex Remnick)

Bloomfield, which now has more wins in April than it did all of last season, dropped from the Atlantic Division -- the conference's top league -- for 2013.

"If we played in the top division, I think we could've done it," said Debbie Mazzeo. "I don't think anything otherwise. We're hitting now on a lower division, but we could definitely hit on a higher division."

Mazzeo's fate has intertwined with Bloomfield's.

The senior pitcher struggled last season, when Bloomfield finished nine games under .500, said head coach Bob Mayer. But a renewed offseason helped change the script this season.

"Getting off to a positive start helped," Mayer said of Mazzeo. "She has more confidence in herself."

The 23-year head coach returns nearly his entire roster from last season, when Mazzeo said the team suffered from lack of unity. Bloomfield gets its first chance against a top-tier opponent Monday, when it travels to Livingston, No. 1 in Essex County, according to The Star-Ledger.

A matchup with Livingston has heavy implications for Tuesday, when Essex County coaches meet at Mount St. Dominic to determine seeding for the county tournament.

"Some of them are biting their lips to play some of the teams in the upper division," Mayer said. "They believe we belong there. You have to do what you have to do. If we keep winning, we're going to wind up playing some of these teams."